SafetyNet 252

Wednesday 19 December, 2012

Welcome to the 252nd edition of the fortnightly OHS bulletin
SafetyNet. This will be the last edition for the year, with the next one due at the end of January 2013. The whole team at
SafetyNet and the VTHC OHS
Unit wishes our readers a safe and healthy holiday season. If you have
any OHS related queries or issues during this time, please contact your
union directly, or WorkSafe Victoria's Advisory service on 03 9641 1444
or 1800 136 089

There were three
confirmed worker fatalities in Victoria
over four days last week, prompting WorkSafe to issue an urgent plea for
workplaces to make safety their priority in the lead-up to the end of year
break.

The three deaths
were:

a 50-year-old man who died in hospital on
Thursday after he was struck by a reversing four-wheel loader at a Brooklyn concrete recycling yard the day before. The
incident occurred while the man was directing traffic at the yard's tip
area;

on Tuesday, a man died in hospital after falling
through a ceiling at a Ringwood site;

a farmer in his 70s was found dead in the early
hours of Monday December 11 after his tractor overturned on his property
near Alexandra. It is believed the incident occurred the day before.

WorkSafe Health
and Safety Operations General Manager, Lisa Sturzenegger, said the past week
was a grim reminder of the importance of workplace safety. Ms Sturzenegger said November and December
was a dangerous period for workplaces across the state. In 2011, in just a
six-week period prior to Christmas, nine workers lost their lives. The recent
incidents bring Victoria's
workplace toll for 2012 to 17.

The Tokyo
District Court has ordered the government to pay $13 million to 170 former
construction workers and their bereaved families over exposure to asbestos.
However, the court rejected the plaintiffs' claim that private construction
materials firms should also be held responsible for the health problems of
their workers. Representatives of 337
people who became ill or died as a result of their exposure to asbestos, accused
the government and 42 companies of failing to take adequate safety measures
despite knowing about its dangers. They originally demanded 12 billion yen
($146 million) in damages, but the court awarded a total 1.06 billion yen to
selected plaintiffs after case reviews.

As previously
reported, Comcare ran an Asbestos Forum during Asbestos Awareness week, with
guest speakers including Mr Geoff Fary, former Chair of the Asbestos Management
Review who spoke on improving asbestos awareness. Also of note, was Mr Steve
Kibble, the newly appointed head of the Office of Asbestos Safety, who
discussed Australia's
national investment in asbestos elimination.
These and other presentations on the financial impacts of asbestos
exposure and disease, the recebt medical research on asbestos related disease,
and more are now available to download on the Comcare website.

Ask Renata

This week's
question is:

In the lead up to Christmas, I've been
going through the children's toys: there are several they have outgrown which
are almost new. However, I've been told that all donated toys have to be new
'for health and safety reasons'. Is this true?

This is another
of those times when people use the excuse of 'health and safety' for not
allowing something to go ahead. There are no health and safety reasons at all for
not donating second hand toys. The charity
organisations will no doubt make sure any items are clean and in good
condition, and so there is no reason why a good second-hand toy should not make
a great present for a child over Christmas.

It takes extra
time and manpower to check the condition of used toys and there may be other valid
insurance or compensation issues, but the good news is there no health and
safety regulations saying this can't be done.

Unions win in bid to keep OHS provisions
in modern awards

In positive news
for Australian workers, employers have lost in their bid to remove OHS
provisions from modern awards. Fair Work Australia's modern awards review full
bench has dismissed arguments put by the Master Builders Association (MBA) and
backed in part by the Australian Industry Group and other employer groups about
health and safety.

The employer
bodies argued that OHS was already addressed in national and state OHS
legislation, and so it not only was it unnecessary to include it in modern
awards but 'a burdensome impost' on employers. They claimed that a certain part
of the Fair Work Act "has the effect that provisions which directly
regulate health and safety may not lawfully be included in modern awards".
The full bench disagreed.

Unions SA: unsafe employers should not employ
young

South Australian
unions say South Australia
desperately needs new laws to protect children who are in the workforce. SA
Unions State Secretary, Janet Giles says South
Australia does not have any child labour laws, which
means there is no minimum age at which a child can legally begin work. 'That means there are no protections for
children who are exposed to unsafe work, humiliated, harassed, degraded or
ripped off - all forms of child abuse. Our Young Workers Legal Service has had
complaints from young people as young as 13 who have experienced issues like
these at work,' she said.

'We believe, for
instance, that employers with a history of abusing young workers should be
restricted or banned from employing young people in the future. And we don't
believe that children under 18 should be working in high-risk construction
work, or in jobs with hazardous risks, like asbestos removal.'

She said that employers
with a history of abusing young workers should be restricted or banned from
employing young people in the future.

The Nanotechnology
Project (Australia)
with one of the world's leading not-for-profit organisations, Friends of the
Earth, has released its latest 'Nano News'. Items of interest include
confirmation that the Federal Government has agreed to a Senate Inquiry into
the use of antimicrobials and the build up of antimicrobial resistance; an
update on nano in sunscreens; and a critical review of Australia's nanotechnology
public engagement. Union reps have been active participants seeking to have
input into government decisions on nanotechnology, but agree with the reviewers
that the way the engagement has been undertaken has in great part been ineffective
and biased.

The European
Commission has moved a step closer to improving Europe's
law on cancer exposures at work. The European Advisory Committee for Safety and
Health at Work (ACSH), the industry-government-union body advising the
Commission on workplace safety issues, adopted an opinion on 5 December 2012
backing the inclusion of new occupational exposure limit values (OELV) to a
revised version of the Carcinogens Directive, which if implemented would have
to be introduced European Union-wide. Laurent Vogel of the European Trade Union
Confederation's research arm, ETUI, said if the Commission accepts the ACSH
opinion, ten new limit values - for crystalline silica, refractory ceramic
fibres, chromium VI, trichloroethylene, hydrazine, acrylamide, epichlorohydrin,
1,2-dibromoethane, methylenedianiline (MDA) and an updated wood dust standard -
would be added to the list of occupational carcinogens for which a mandatory
OELV will apply in all EU countries. The Directive currently contains only
three limits - for vinyl chloride monomer, benzene and hardwood dust - 'which
is a big obstacle to cutting workers' exposure to the hundreds of carcinogens
and mutagens still being used in European workplaces,' said Vogel. 'The
tripartite opinion just adopted at European level by governments and employers'
and workers' representatives should help jump-start the revision of the
Directive which has been in the Commission's pending tray since 2004. It should
give an estimated 10 million European workers better protection from the risks
related to exposure to workplace carcinogens.'

As everyone is
winding down for the holidays, WorkSafe has issued a warning to builders: 'Don't let your building site become a playground!'

WorkSafe
Construction Manager Allan Beacom said builders had to ensure their sites were well
secured before shutting down over Christmas, as they could be extremely
dangerous to the public. 'Builders need
to consider the risk their sites can pose and take appropriate measures,' he
warned. 'We need builders to properly lock up their sites to prevent
unauthorised people, especially children who might view a site as a potential
playground, from gaining access. No one should have to deal with the trauma of
an injury because a site wasn't properly secure.' Mr Beacom said builders
should also look at other safety measures to minimise risk, including adequate
fencing, ensuring plant and equipment are protected, and chemicals and
dangerous goods are appropriately stored.

According to new
data released by WorkSafe, a Victorian worker is injured every 18 minutes. WorkSafe released the figure to highlight a
new campaign launched last week by Assistant Treasurer, Mr Gordon
Rich-Phillips, centring around the impact that a near-death experience at work
has on a worker and his family.

'Only a worker
who has suffered a near miss, an injury or – worse still – seen a colleague die
at work fully understands the impact that this has on themselves and the people
around them,' Mr Rich-Phillips said. 'This time of year is a dangerous one for
workplace fatalities, but we should never lose sight of the fact that injuries
and near misses can also be extremely traumatising.'

It should be
noted, however, that this figure is based on the 28,478 Victorians who made an
injury claim in the past twelve months after being hurt at work. While this equates
to one injury about every 18 minutes, the real numbers of people injured at
work or contracting an illness or disease are much higher.

As agreed at the
last Safe Work Australia meeting, this week saw the release of a major report (co-funded by SafeWork SA and the
Australian Research Council): Australian
Workplace Barometer: Report on psychosocial safety climate and worker health in
Australia report [pdf]
. As the report states upfront in its Executive Summary: 'A standout finding here is that depression
related to job strain and bullying costs Australian employers approximately
AUD$8 billion per annum as a result of sickness absence and presenteeism.'

The resulting
recommendation is that employers need to consider the significant impact that
respect, recognition, job security and career development have on improving
employee wellbeing.

The research,
which summarises data from the ACT, the Northern Territory, NSW, South
Australia, Tasmania and Western Australia, is based on the 'Psychosocial Safety
Climate' (PSC) theory, which measures levels of worker depression and job
strain and states 'work conditions, worker health and engagement can be
predicted when the psychosocial safety climate of an organisation or work group
is known'.

Industrial Chemicals News

The
Parliamentary Secretary for Health and Ageing, The Hon Catherine King MP has
announced the release of the first round of industrial chemical assessments
under the Inventory Multi-tiered Assessment and Prioritisation (IMAP)
Framework. The Framework was introduced
earlier this year and specifically designed to accelerate the assessment of
industrial chemicals that are already available for use in Australia, but which have not been
scientifically assessed for their human health and environmental impacts. 'The
release for public comment of the reports on the first 137 chemicals assessed
under the new IMAP framework is a major milestone in improving the safe use of
chemicals in Australia,' Ms King said. NICNAS is seeking public comment on the first
round of assessments – the public comment period closes on 31 January 2013.

The Federal
Minister for Workplace Relations, Bill Shorten, has announced the establishment
of the Automated External Defibrillator Deployment Registry (AEDDR) which is
seeking to reduce the number of work-related fatalities from cardiac arrest
caused by malfunctioning or poorly deployed Automated External Defibrillators
(AEDs). The Canberra-based
not-for-profit organisation is dedicated to ensuring AEDs throughout Australia meet
standards of safety, reliability, effective capability and ease of use.
Minister Shorten also launched new guidelines for the proper deployment of
AEDs. These were developed by the AEDDR.

Road Safety Remuneration Tribunal sets
priorities

After considering
submissions to a draft of its first Annual Work Program, the relatively newly
established national Road Safety Remuneration Tribunal announced the finalised Program
on December 10. The Tribunal has decided to limit the work program to a few
sectors of the road transport industry, namely: the retail sector, livestock
sector, bulk grain sector, interstate long distance sector and intrastate long
distance sector.

From Work Health and Safety, Queensland,
an alert following a fatality at a school in Cairns. The electrical worker was electrocuted
while installing communication cabling in a ceiling space. An electrical
cable with damaged insulation made contact with a metallic plate
energising parts of the building structure, to which the worker was
exposed. The alert includes links to information on working on roofs and
ceiling spaces.

From the UK's regulator, the HSE, a new
websiteBuy Quiet which has been launched to help manufacturers, importers, suppliers and
users of equipment to work together to reduce the risk of noise-induced
hearing loss in the workplace. It supports users in their duty to avoid
high noise equipment when suitable lower noise equipment is available and
manufacturers in their duty to minimise noise by technical means. While
the information is going to be in some cases specific to the UK, there
should be some very useful information for Australian workplaces too.

WorkSafe Prosecutions

NEW Vic: Tree lopping company fined after worker left hanging

A tree lopping company, Ranges
Tree Works Pty Ltd, has been convicted and fined $15,000 in the Ringwood
Magistrates' Court following an incident in which an employee was knocked
unconscious and left hanging from a tree.

On 8 August 2011 an
employee, assisted by two subcontractors employed by the company, was cutting
down a tree at a private home. The owner of the company was also present. After
removing the tree canopy and limbs, he was cutting the tree trunk into pieces
that were then being lowered to the ground by a pulley and bollard device
system. As a 180kg portion of the trunk was being lowered to the ground, a
ratchet handle released, causing the bollard to swing through the air, hit the
employee in the head, rendering him unconscious and hanging in his harness. He
also suffered a large cut to his face. The two had little or no experience in
the industry or working at heights, or knew how to conduct an aerial rescue.
There was no emergency rescue equipment on site - the injured man was rescued
by a next door neighbour, who had experience in emergency service operations,
and his son.

Two former employees of
Ranges Tree Works told the court that they had warned the owner of the company
of the need to employ a second climber and to have rescue equipment on site.

WorkSafe's general manager
of health and safety, Lisa Sturzenegger, said tree lopping was dangerous work
and correct procedures were essential at all times. Ms Sturzenegger said there
had been several fatalities in the industry in recent years, and serious
injuries had included falls, being dragged into chipper in-feed rollers, being
struck by materials ejected from chainsaws, or being hit by falling branches.

The Australian Defence
Force (ADF) has been fined $210,000 for OHS breaches, for an incident which
resulted in former Federal Liberal Senator Nick Minchin's son being struck by
the unguarded propeller of an inflatable boat.

In February 2010, the ADF
Academy Army Officer Cadet fell out of the boat during a 'joy ride' on a NSW
lake and suffered serious lacerations to his back when he was hit by the
spinning propeller. Federal Court Justice John Griffiths on Thursday found
there was 'not only a foreseeable risk of serious injury or death... there was
a very high foreseeable risk'. This was
not only due to the inherent risk of unguarded propellers, but also as there
had been six similar incidents dating in the previous five years. The maximum
penalty available was $242,000.Source: OHS Alert

NSW: Business owner fined after death for ignorance of Australian
Standards

In a prosecution that
illustrates the need for employers to be aware of 'state of knowledge', the NSW Industrial Court
has fined a business owner over a go-kart death. The man, who was the former
owner of Port Stephens Go Kart Hire, was fined $32,000, and ordered to pay
$18,000 in costs, for failing to ensure the safety of a 26-year-old patron, who
died after her loose-fitting hijab became entangled in the rear drive axle of a
go-kart and strangled her.

There are two Australian
Standards (AS 3533.1 - 2009 Amusement rides and devices, Part 1: Design and
construction; and AS 3533.2 - 2009 Amusement rides and devices, Part 2:
Operation and maintenance) which applied to the go-kart business. These
Standards required go-kart riders to 'not wear loose fitting clothing or
accessories that could become entangled in any part of the kart', and
prohibited patrons with such clothing or accessories from participating 'where there
is a risk of entanglement'. They also
required owners to provide signs for the control of patrons, the safe use of a
device or the operating restrictions for a device, and to carry out detailed
checks of each patron to identify any loose or baggy clothing.

The owner and operator (his
son) had not been aware of the Standards, but the Court stressed that under OHS
laws employers are obligated to become aware of and comply with Australian
Standards that apply to their operations.

The construction company
responsible for upgrading a section of the Hume Highway has been fined $350,000 and
ordered to pay WorkCover costs after one of its employees was killed on the
project. Leighton Contractors Pty Limited (Leighton) was the principal
contractor building the $250 million Tarcutta Bypass, on the Hume Highway when the fatality occurred. On 1 July 2010, a 39-year-old truck driver
was crushed between two heavy vehicles while filling out paperwork after
refuelling a front end loader, and died at the scene.

A WorkCover investigation
found that Leighton did not ensure adequate safety when refuelling at the site.
The company had had seven prior OHS convictions. Leighton was charged with, and pleaded guilty
to, breaching its duties under the State OHS Act, in failing to ensure
compliance with a specific SWMS for refuelling plant, and failing to provide
formal documented information, instruction and training to workers relating to
the SWMS.

WorkCover General Manager
of the Work Health and Safety Division John Watson said the risk of serious
injury or death could have been avoided. 'Leighton had a safe work method
statement for refuelling plant but they had not ensured their staff that
operated mobile plant equipment had been trained in the procedure.'

The NSW Supreme Court has
ordered two employers - Parkview Constructions Pty Ltd and Erect Safe
Scaffolding (Australia)
Pty Ltd - to pay $2.3 million in damages to a worker who suffered extensive
injuries when he fell through scaffolding that had been tampered with. He fractured his pelvis, spine, right forearm
and elbow, and suffered traumatic brain and psychological injuries.

The incident occurred in April
2007. Parkview was constructing a residential complex, with Erect Safe and a
third company, Bluestar Painting Solutions Pty Ltd, providing services. A
Bluestar painter fell through scaffolding on the building's third level when a board
underneath him gave way. One of the other boards had been untied and removed,
leaving the bracket free to splay, and that 'from time to time tradespersons...
removed or adjusted scaffolding so they could get on with the job'. It appears that an inspection carried out by
Parkview's site supervisor and Erect Safe's scaffold foreman a few days before
the incident was a 'cursory observation' only, not picking up the board was
missing.

Source: OHSAlert

International News

USA:
Working conditions of domestic workers

A US survey
released in November has revealed the conditions and experiences domestic
workers face, documenting issues such as wage exploitation, preventable
on-the-job injuries and the little, if any, power domestic workers have in
improving their work environments and holding employers accountable. Home Economics: The Invisible and
Unregulated World of Domestic Work is the first national study of
domestic workers, filling an enormous quantitative data gap. The National
Domestic Workers Alliance (NDWA) surveyed nearly 2,100 privately employed
nannies, caregivers and housecleaners in 14 metropolitan areas. All those
surveyed were paid directly from their employer, not through an agency or
government entity. The survey confirmed
that substandard work environments, poor wages and hazardous work conditions
are widespread: 23 percent of workers are paid below state minimum wage, 70
percent are paid less than $13 per hour, and the median hourly wage was $6.15,
more than a dollar below the federal minimum wage. Sixty-five percent of
domestic workers surveyed did not have health insurance, and only 4 percent
received employer-provided health insurance.

US-based
Clean Production Action (CPA) has released a new 'Guide to safer chemicals', a
practical tool setting benchmarks for how users of chemicals - purchasers,
retailers and product manufacturers - can track their progress towards safer
chemicals use. The guide builds on four key principles: Know and disclose
product chemistry; assess and avoid hazards; commit to continuous improvement;
and support public policies and industry standards.

The
US
based Center for Construction Research and Training (CPWR), has launched a 'Work safely with silica' website. CPWR,
an organisation working closely with US construction unions, says as well as giving
details of US
silica regulation and official research, the new resource includes other
research, articles, and training materials, as well as responses to frequently
asked questions. Central features of the new site include a 'Know the hazard'
section, geared for anyone interested in learning more about why silica is
hazardous, the risk, who's at risk, the health effects, and steps workers and
contractors can take to work safely with silica. Exposure to silica is linked
to serious and potentially fatal occupational diseases, notably silicosis and
lung cancer.